Disney World Day 2 (EPCOT)

Alright, don't say I didn't warn you yesterday. You have to love us to wade through all these pictures...so here you go Mom and Dad and the McTaggarts (we love you too!)!

Here we are outside of Epcot on Day 2 of the crazy fun:

Bizarrely, our first stop of the day was the Canada pavilion of Epcot. There are two distinct sections of the park. The first is all futuristic and tomorrow oriented. The other is all different countries. We will likely spend two days there, so we focused on the countries on Day 2.

Canada seemed very familiar, but distinctly warmer than we remember.

Also, as always, most of the culture we present to the rest of the world has a lot to do with First Nations people. And maple syrup. No wonder other countries find us dull...

The kids picked up paper bears on sticks, which became their passports for our trip. They had to check in at each country and get their stamp. Also, real representatives from each country would write messages for them. The guy from France told me all about Disney's cultural ambassador program. They actually bring people from each country for a year apiece. They stay just off-site and take trips all together, in addition to answering questions and working in their country's pavilion. It sounds amazing. All the people we meet were fantastic and very keen to talk about their homes. So cool.

I had the luck/misfortune to be pulled out of the audience to perform in a King Arthur skit in the Great Britain pavilion. I was the hag/maiden/wizard/embarrassed person. At the end, I was gifted a button which will apparently save me from ever having to do it again. I will hold onto that button.

The kids trapped in a London phone booth.

Here we are in the gardens of France. Again, the attention to detail was incredible. The last time I was at Epcot, I hadn't been to any of the places in the pavilions for real. This time, I was able to look at the Disney version more critically. It really is amazing what they do.

From what I remember, they have done a lot of work to update the items available in the stores and the flavour of the pavilions. There were things for sale that I know you can't get anywhere other than the home country. I noticed it especially in Germany, where there were hundreds of items I have never seen outside of the EU.

An especially delicious example (though not so rare) is the delicious pain au chocolat we ate in France. They were flaky and authentic (just like me....ba-dum ching...).

Here we are eating them.

This is Finny, lounging majestically in Morocco. This was my favourite place we visited. It really felt like a souk atmosphere.

I could have spent the afternoon hanging out by this fountains and cool courtyards. It was divine.

Molly was also enamoured of Morocco, because it is in Africa, her favourite continent. She asked the Moroccan woman there to write her name in Arabic.

So, of course, Finny followed suit. I need to take a picture of their bears at the end of our day to include here. They had their names written in Arabic, Mandarin and Japanese characters. They had messages in French, German, Norwegian, Spanish and Italian. They were so excited.

Morocco.

There was an amazing store in Japan. It was a good thing I didn't have a credit card in my pocket. There would have been some charging going on...

Molly and Finny tried on kimonos.

The girls looked so lovely, but I questioned Molly about this praying pose. She did it in a few pictures with "ethnic" costumes. It is her pose of respect for another culture.

The girls also learned how to fold an origami t-shirt.

Lukey got the demonstration model.

There was hula hooping. There were tons of different little activities in each area. It was interactive, instructive, educational and fun. I know I sound like an ad, but I really loved the total package.

A fountain in Italy.

A square in Germany.

A dragon dance in China.

An incredible bendy lady. If you know Finny, you know she was watching every move to duplicate it all on our floor at home.

Molly in her hat in China. I didn't include the one with her in praying pose...

With a troll in Norway. Observe Lukey's wacky helmet.

In Mexico.

More hats. If there are hats, my kids put them on.

And last, but not least, the requisite picture of Molly's reluctant face before the best ride of the day. Yesterday it was the Everest Expedition. Today it was Test Track. She made this face for a full half hour. She went on the ride with much arm twisting.

She loved it.

Expect more of these shots. I love them.

Next stop: Universal Studios Islands of Adventure. This time, no kids because it is Eric's and my twenty year anniversary of our first date on November 10, 1991. We get our own day of fun.